"Huh? Was that an earthquake? No... it sounds like the noise of being trampled by something big... something big... could it be a Ruin Guard?"
Ying pondered for a moment and decided to investigate. After scooping up Paimon beside her, she said, "Paimon, you stay here and watch the food. I'll go take a look."
"Oh, host, be careful on your way!"
"Got it!" Ying waved and got up, sneaking towards the direction of the sound. The source wasn't far, and Ying quickened her pace. It didn't take long before she reached within a hundred or two hundred meters of the area. Being cautious was never a bad thing.
Ying peeked out from behind a tree and found a clearing in front of her, somewhat resembling Windrise. A Ruin Guard was walking forward in that area. Upon closer inspection, it seemed a young man was sitting on the Ruin Guard's hand. wap.kanshu5.net
"Hiss... this scene feels a bit familiar... that person also looks a bit familiar, but it's too far to see clearly..." Ying felt the young man's appearance was somewhat familiar and muttered softly.
"Oh, right! I have a telescope!" Ying slapped her forehead and took her telescope from her spatial inventory to observe again.
"Heh heh~ Let me see your true face!"
"Hmm... this head of hair looks so familiar... the clothes too... uh... wait... could it be Aether?! Σ(|||▽|||)"
Ying's eyes widened in surprise. Just as she was about to confirm, she noticed Aether turning his head towards her. Startled, she quickly ducked back behind the tree.
"Did he see me?! At this distance, it's unlikely..." Ying cautiously poked her head out again, raising her telescope to look. To her surprise, the Ruin Guard was actually walking towards her, and in the next second, she locked eyes with Aether.
"What the?!" Ying ducked behind the tree again, clutching her head and saying nervously.
"It's over, it's over, he definitely saw me, what do I do, what do I do ah ah ah! ≥﹏≤"
"Hoo... calm down, Ying, you just need to pretend to be Lumine... As if! These clothes don't look like anything Lumine would wear! And if I remember correctly, the system did say... he might have seen me before... Wait... if I remember correctly, he might have erased my memory of meeting him... In that case..." Ying had a sudden flash of inspiration and came up with a brilliant idea.
A while later...
The Ruin Guard had reached the tree where Ying was located.
Just as Aether was about to speak, Ying suddenly burst out from behind the tree and shouted, "Let go of that boy!"
She then unleashed several Anemo Blades at the Ruin Guard's arm, forcefully severing it. Aether, meanwhile, jumped to the side, looking confused at the loli... girl fighting his robot!
Not long after, the girl had dealt with the Ruin Guard and approached him, saying,
"Are you alright? Are you hurt?" (Heh heh~ Isn't it enough to just pretend not to know him? I'm such a little genius~ (*˘︶˘*))
Aether looked at the familiar girl before him. She was wearing a blue short skirt that revealed her long, fair legs. Her golden hair gave her a lively and cute aura, making one want to get close to her.
"I'm fine..."
"Hoo~ That's good. How did you get caught by that big piece of metal? Fortunately, you met me, otherwise, you might have died!" Ying said to Aether with a serious expression, though inwardly she was so embarrassed she could have dug a three-bedroom apartment out of her shame.
(Ugh... destroying his robot and then acting like I saved him is too embarrassing... And with my combat power, I said he almost died... I want to find a hole to crawl into... (t∇t))
"Mm... Thank you."
"You're welcome, you're welcome. Since you're okay, I'll be going now..." With that, Ying immediately turned to leave.
"Wait a moment."
"Huh? Is there something else?" (Could he have discovered something? Σ(|||▽|||))
"I'm not familiar with this place. Can I walk with you?"
"Huh? This..."
"Is that not allowed?"
"Of course, of course! Absolutely!" (I dare not refuse... ≥﹏≤)
"Thank you." Aether smiled at Ying.
"No problem, no problem. If you're alright, then follow me." (Strange... Aether shouldn't be unfamiliar with this place... and he should know me, but I feel like he's acting more like it's our first meeting than I am...)
Aether followed Ying into the forest. Before leaving, he couldn't resist glancing back at the Ruin Guard Ying had dismantled.
"Um, what's your name?" (We've come this far, I can only keep up the act...)
"Aether."
"Aether, my name is Ying, the 'crystal clear' Ying. Nice to meet you, Aether~ (^～^)"
"Mm, it's nice to meet you too."
"Huh? Why do you say that?"
"Mm... because you look a lot like my sister..."
"Ah, this... then what's your sister's name?" (Does he really not recognize me? Strange...)
"She's also called Lumine, but not the 'crystal clear' Lumine, but the 'fluorescent' Lumine."
"Oh?! Is the sister you're talking about separated from you?" (It's really tiring to act as if it's real...)
"That's right, how did you know?"
"I met her! She's with me now... ah, no, she was with me earlier!"
"Earlier? Did you separate?"
"No, no, she took on a mission and is staying in Mondstadt for a few extra days, so I came ahead to scout. We'll meet up tomorrow at the [Liyue Qixing Ceremony]~ I'll take you to meet your sister then! (✪▽✪)"
"Mm... We'll see then. Speaking of which, do you have anything to eat? I feel a bit hungry."
"You're hungry? Ah~ I happen to have some leftover poultry meat that I couldn't finish, I'll give it to you then (^～^)"
"Mm, thank you."
"It's a small matter, a small matter (^_^)"
Ying quickly led Aether back to her temporary campsite...
"Ah~ Host, you're finally back. I've waited so long my flowers have wilted (ー△ー)"
"Ahem~ Something happened. Those skewers of poultry, they weren't burnt, right?"
"How could they be? I'm not an idiot."
Hearing Paimon's words, Ying breathed a sigh of relief. "Hoo~ That's good. Aether, come and eat quickly~"
"Okay, thank you." Aether thanked Ying again, took the poultry meat Ying offered, and began to savor it.
"Huh? Did the host just say a familiar name... Aether... Aether?! Host, huh?!" Paimon exclaimed in surprise, but before she could finish, Ying quickly covered her mouth.
"What's wrong?"
"Cough cough~ Nothing, nothing, Paimon is just having a moment. You keep eating, don't mind us~" Ying quickly explained to Aether, completely unaware that Aether had already seen everything that had just happened...